


A Gift from Yoba

by Silver_Shortage_in_Markarth



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-19 11:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22644328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silver_Shortage_in_Markarth/pseuds/Silver_Shortage_in_Markarth
Summary: Even in the most dire of circumstances, there is always a glimmer of hope.Sometimes it just takes a while to realize it's there.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	A Gift from Yoba

In the week following the fateful accident, Shane recalled two events of great significance. 

The first was the more destructive of the two; hearing that his two best friends had been in a serious and fatal automobile accident had caused something within him to shatter into a million pieces. He recalled going to the saloon that night and drinking himself stupid as a result. So stupid, in fact, that Shane ended up having to be carried home over his aunt Marnie's shoulder. 

But the second was one that he'd never have expected in a million years, let alone his lifetime. 

It happened on the day of his friends' funeral. Not wanting to cause any ruckus (Shane knew full well that standing by them for too long would result in him breaking down in uncontrollable tears), Shane had ended up sitting in the very back of the visitation room. His intention was to sneak out as discreetly as he could manage. 

Mayor Lewis ended up foiling that plan. 

"Excuse me, Shane," he could be heard as he walked over to get the latter's attention. "I'm going to need to see you after the ceremony is over. Will that be all right?" 

Shane looked off to the side and glared down at the floor. He'd rather not spend too much more time in this place. In the end, he decided to just get it over with. 

...

Rather than end up in some extra and perhaps often forgotten room in the funeral home, Shane found himself arriving at the mayor's house. It was at least close to the saloon, so however long this took, he could probably forget about it later on with some cheap beer. 

"First off," Mayor Lewis said as he poured tea for the both of them, "My condolences to you for your loss." Shane nodded, letting the mayor continue. "Now the reason I called you here..." Next to him, Lewis reached into a formal looking bag, and pulled out a manila envelope filled with papers. At the sight of this, Shane couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. 

Lewis either didn't see him do it, or just ignored it. "At some time before their deaths, your friends had done some important paperwork for if such an event like this one took place."

"And?" Shane was handed one paper out of the wad, leading him to scan through it to learn what its significance was. The longer he took, the more his brow creased in confusion. He then set it back onto the table and said the only words he could think of: 

"...You gotta be shitting me."

...

Later, when Shane was assured that Lewis was _not_ shitting him, he asked to go see her. 

His two and a half year old goddaughter was laying on the floor, aimlessly dragging a red crayon against an otherwise blank sheet of paper. Not wanting to frighten her too badly, he quietly closed the door behind himself and all but tiptoed over to her. 

"Uh..." His loss of words got her to look up right at him. "Hey there. Jas, right?"

Jas nodded vigorously, continuing to stare up as he knelt down to maintain proper eye contact. She waited for in case he was going to say more, then just went back to coloring. 

"What you coloring there? Anything cool?" She didn't answer. Shane took this as a sign to not beat around the bush. 

"So, uh...Jas." It still felt weird to say her name. "I don't know if you know, but you're gonna be...uh..."

He had no idea how to explain this to a now orphaned toddler he didn't know a whole lot about. Shane probably should've taken that as a sign that he wasn't ready for this.

"Eh, how the hell do I say this...?" Another thing to keep in mind: tone back on the swearing. "You're gonna be living with me and my aunt from now on. Your parents aren't going to be around anymore, and they said I was going to be the one to take care of you if something happened to them."

Jas paused in her coloring, which Shane took as a sign that she actually understood what he was telling her. 

"So...think maybe you put that down and I can help you pack your things?" 

He waited until she did so. Shane then waited until Jas wobbled to her feet, and picked her up. 

For the rest of the time there, he was quiet as he packed up some of her toys and clothes. 

Right now, he just wanted to get all of this done with so he could get to the saloon. This filled him with an incredible amount of guilt. 

This was going to be a difficult decade and a half for him. But Shane told himself to hang on; he had a kid to think about now. 


End file.
